The present application is directed to connectors for attaching together elongated members in a side-by-side arrangement and, more particularly, to connectors that have an adjustable receptacle.
The spine is divided into a variety of regions including the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar regions. The cervical region includes the top seven vertebral members identified as C1-C7. The thoracic region includes the next twelve vertebral members identified as T1-T12. The lumbar region includes five vertebral members L1-L5. The sacrococcygeal region includes nine fused vertebrae that form the sacrum and the coccyx. The vertebrae of the spine are aligned in a curved configuration that includes a cervical curve, thoracic curve, and lumbosacral curve.
Various conditions may lead to damage of the intervertebral discs and the vertebral members. The damage may result from a variety of causes including a specific event such as trauma, a degenerative condition, a tumor, or infection. Damage to the intervertebral discs and vertebral members can lead to pain, neurological deficit, and/or loss of motion.
Elongated members, such as rods, are often used in a variety of different surgical treatments to treat these conditions. In some cases, the elongated members are attached along the spine to facilitate spinal fusion to inhibit relative motion between vertebral members. In other cases, elongated members may be implanted with dynamic implants to preserve motion between vertebral members. Other treatments include implanting elongated members without the use of spinal fusion or dynamic implants.
Elongated members may provide a stable, rigid column that encourages bones to fuse after spinal-fusion surgery. Further, the members may redirect stresses over a wider area away from a damaged or defective region. Also, the members may restore the spine to its proper alignment. In the various surgical procedures, the members may be attached to the exterior of two or more vertebral members, whether it is at a posterior, anterior, or lateral side of the spine.
Two elongated members may extend along the same level of the spine. The members are in a side-by-side arrangement and laterally offset from one another. It may be advantageous to connect the members together to stabilize and provide additional support to the elongated members. However, previous connectors have not been effective in connecting together members in a side-by-side arrangement. The connectors have not been adjustable to accommodate the different members, particularly when the members extend along the spine at different angular orientations or have different elongated shapes (e.g., curved shaped, bent shape). Further, connecting the two members to a single connector may have previously caused unwanted stress to one or both members. This stress may be caused by the bending or manipulating of one or both members to force them into the connector.